List of amusement parks in Central Florida

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This is a list of amusement parks operating in the Central Florida area of Florida, United States.

NameLocationOperatorOpened
Weeki Wachee Springs Weeki Wachee Florida Department of Environmental Protection 1947
Gatorland Orlando Gatorland1949
ZooTampa at Lowry Park Tampa Lowry Park Zoological Society1957
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Tampa United Parks & Resorts 1959
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Merritt Island Delaware North 1967
Magic Kingdom Bay Lake Disney Experiences 1971
SeaWorld Orlando Orlando United Parks & Resorts 1973
Epcot Bay Lake Disney Experiences 1982
Old Town Kissimmee The Travel Corporation 1986
Disney's Hollywood Studios Bay Lake Disney Experiences 1989
Give Kids the World Village Kissimmee Give Kids the World Village1989
Universal Studios Florida Orlando Universal Destinations & Experiences 1990
Fun Spot America – Orlando Orlando Fun Spot America Theme Parks 1997
Disney's Animal Kingdom Bay Lake Disney Experiences 1998
Dinosaur World Plant City Dinosaur World1998
Universal Islands of Adventure Orlando Universal Destinations & Experiences 1999
Discovery Cove Orlando United Parks & Resorts 2000
Celebration Station Clearwater Celebration Station2004
Daytona Lagoon Daytona Beach DBWP, LLC2005
Fun Spot America – Kissimmee Kissimmee Fun Spot America Theme Parks 2007
Legoland Florida Winter Haven Merlin Entertainments 2011
ICON Park Orlando Merlin Entertainments 2015
Peppa Pig Theme Park Winter Haven Merlin Entertainments 2022
Universal Epic Universe Orlando Universal Destinations & Experiences opening 2025

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amusement park</span> Park with rides and attractions

An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often featuring multiple areas with different themes. Unlike temporary and mobile funfairs and carnivals, amusement parks are stationary and built for long-lasting operation. They are more elaborate than city parks and playgrounds, usually providing attractions that cater to a variety of age groups. While amusement parks often contain themed areas, theme parks place a heavier focus with more intricately-designed themes that revolve around a particular subject or group of subjects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magic Kingdom</span> Theme park at Walt Disney World

Magic Kingdom Park is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division. The official park name has changed slightly over the years, from Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017). The park was initialized by Walt Disney and designed by WED Enterprises. The park layout and attractions were based on Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, and are dedicated to fairy tales and Disney characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver Springs, Florida</span> Census-designated place in Florida, United States

Silver Springs is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marion County of northern Florida. It is the site of Silver Springs, a group of artesian springs and a historic tourist attraction that is now part of Silver Springs State Park. The community is part of the Ocala metropolitan area. It was first listed as a CDP for the 2020 census, at which time it had a population of 2,844.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swing ride</span> Type of amusement ride

The swing ride or chair swing ride is an amusement ride that is a variation on the carousel in which the seats are suspended from the rotating top of the carousel. On some versions, particularly on the Wave Swingers, the rotating top of the carousel also tilts for additional variations of motion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kumba (roller coaster)</span> Ride at Busch Gardens Tampa

Kumba is a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened in 1993. It stands 143 feet (44 m) tall and has a top speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). Kumba features a total of seven inversions across the 3-minute ride.

A family entertainment center (FEC) in the entertainment industry, also known as an indoor amusement park, family amusement center, family fun center, soft play, or simply fun center, is a small amusement park marketed towards families with small children to teenagers, often entirely indoors. They usually cater to "sub-regional markets of larger metropolitan areas." FECs are generally small compared to full-scale amusement parks, with fewer attractions, a lower per-person per-hour cost to consumers than a traditional amusement park, and not usually major tourist attractions, but sustained by an area customer base. Many are locally owned and operated, although there are a number of chains and franchises in the field. Some, operated by non-profit organizations as children's museums or science museums, tend to be geared toward edutainment experiences rather than simply amusement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Incredible Hulk Coaster</span> Roller coaster at Islands of Adventure

The Incredible Hulk Coaster is a launched roller coaster located at Universal Islands of Adventure theme park within the Universal Orlando Resort. Designed by Werner Stengel and manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), the roller coaster is themed after the Hulk comic book superhero and opened to the public on May 28, 1999. It is the first B&M coaster themed to a Marvel Comics superhero character and the first to feature a launch design, which was primarily implemented by Universal Creative and MTS Systems Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man</span> Motion-based 3D dark ride at Universal Parks

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is a 3D motion simulator and dark ride located at Universal Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida. Based on the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man, it was originally built for Islands of Adventure's grand opening in 1999. A second version of the attraction also existed at Universal Studios Japan from 2004 to 2024. The attraction has a hybrid configuration that combines motion vehicles with 3D projection and elaborate physical sets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scrambler (ride)</span> Type of amusement ride

The Scrambler, Twist, Twister, Cha Cha, Sizzler, or Merry Mixer, is an amusement ride in which suspended riders spinning in cars experience centrifugal force, while spinning along two separate axes. Riders are seated in small carriages clustered together and connected by beams at the top to a central point. The clustered vehicles are spun in one direction, while the ride as a whole spins in the opposite direction. There are a number of variations of the design.

Amusement park accidents refer to serious injuries or deaths that occur at amusement parks. Many such accidents are reported to regulatory authorities as usually required by law everywhere. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission tracks statistics for all amusement ride accidents. Regulations and records can vary depending on the country. Accidents listed here are caused by one of the following:

  1. Negligence on the part of the guest. This can be refusal to follow specific ride safety instructions, or deliberate intent to violate park rules.
  2. The result of a guest's known, or unknown, health issues.
  3. Negligence on the part of the park, either by ride operator or maintenance safety instructions, or deliberate intent to violate park rules.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loop-O-Plane</span> Amusement ride

The Loop-O-Plane is an amusement park ride that originated in America. It was invented by Lee Eyerly and manufactured by the Eyerly Aircraft Company of Salem, Oregon, in 1933. The ride was immediately popular with customers and became a staple of amusement parks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wet 'n Wild Orlando</span> Former water park in Orlando

Wet 'n Wild Orlando was the flagship water park of Wet 'n Wild owned by NBC Universal, located on International Drive in Orlando, Florida. It was founded in 1977 by SeaWorld creator George Millay. It closed on January 1, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legoland Florida</span> Lego themed resort in Winter Haven, Florida

Legoland Florida Resort is a vacation destination in Winter Haven, Florida. The resort features the Legoland Florida theme park itself, the Legoland Water Park, three on-site accommodations and a separately-ticketed on-site park based on the British children's animated series Peppa Pig that opened on February 24, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal theme park</span> Combination of a theme park and a zoo

An animal theme park, also known as a zoological theme park, is a combination of an amusement park and a zoo, mainly for entertainment, amusement, and commercial purposes. Many animal theme parks combine classic theme park elements, such as themed entertainment and amusement rides, with classic zoo elements such as live animals confined within enclosures for display. Many times, live animals are utilized and featured as part of amusement rides and attractions found at animal theme parks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miracle Strip at Pier Park</span> Former American amusement park

Miracle Strip at Pier Park was an amusement park in Panama City Beach, Florida, owned by Miracle Strip Carousel, LLC. The original Miracle Strip closed in 2004 after 41 years of operation, but a new amusement park using the same name was resurrected and began with moving the carousel from its original location to Pier Park in March 2009. After the success of the carousel, the few remaining rides were purchased and moved as well, opening in March 2010. This retro park reopened with a few new rides, games and food vendors on a much larger 14-acre tract on April 18, 2014. The park closed in 2015. Many of the rides permanently moved to Lake Winnepesaukah.

The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) represents over 6,000 amusement-industry members in more than 100 countries worldwide and operates several global attractions-industry trade shows. Its annual IAAPA Expo in Orlando, Florida, is recognized as the world's largest attractions trade show in the number of attendees and exhibitors and providing members insight into current amusement trends, laws, operations and industry methodology. IAAPA also helps to promote guest-safety and ride-safety guidelines in conjunction with ASTM International and assists its members to uphold the highest amusement-industry safety and professional standards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fun Spot America Theme Parks</span> Amusement park in Orlando, Florida

Fun Spot America Theme Parks is a group of amusement parks. Since 1979, the group has owned and operated a number of small amusement parks over the years and currently has three locations in Orlando, Florida, Kissimmee, Florida, and Fayetteville, Georgia.

Eyerly Aircraft Company was an amusement ride manufacturing company in Salem, Oregon, founded by Lee Eyerly in 1930. The company originally intended to design flight simulators for the aircraft industry but shifted to amusement rides after an early simulator, called Orientator, became a popular pay-per-ride attraction with the public. The company manufactured rides until 1985 and went bankrupt in 1990, following a fatal accident in 1988 on a ride built by the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulgy the Whale</span> Childrens amusement ride model

Bulgy the Whale is a children's amusement ride manufactured by Eyerly Aircraft Company. It consists of eight whale-shaped ride vehicles traveling in a counter-clockwise rotation, similar to a carousel, while traveling up and down small hills. Although the Eyerly Aircraft Company ceased operation in the 1980s, there are still several Bulgy the Whale rides in operation. Some have had their whales repainted to resemble fish instead of whales, and others have had thematic pieces added, but the general operation and idea remains the same.